I never imagined that I was actually an avatar of a great being in the Astral World.
Anthony Reed instinctively repeated Hugues Artois's words in his mind, feeling an inexplicable chill crawl up his spine.
Hearing those words seemed to flip a switch. Familiar memories surged like a tide, and Anthony's expression gradually twisted in the study, which had fallen quiet again.
Looking at Hugues Artois sitting calmly before him, Anthony suppressed the urge to punch him in the face and asked quietly, "Boss?"
"I'm here."
Two voices sounded simultaneously, one in front of Anthony and one beside him. One belonged to Hugues Artois, which Anthony had expected. The panic in Hugues Artois's eyes when the figure of the "boss" appeared had seemed genuine.
Unless Hugues Artois had now been replaced by Passion's boss, there was no explaining the complete reversal in his attitude.
But the other voice-his scalp prickling, Anthony looked at the Mechanical Monk sitting beside him. A smile had appeared on the Mechanical Monk's face, identical to that of the "Hugues Artois" before him, yet utterly unlike a human smile.
The second voice had come from the Mechanical Monk's mouth.
Anthony's expression shifted several times. After a moment, he finally exhaled. "Boss, your Chosen was you all along?"
"You could put it that way." Hugues Artois, sitting across from him, slowly spoke in the gentle yet unquestionable voice Anthony had heard in his mind over the past two days. "It's just a minor application of a Beyonder ability. You'll be able to do it too once your Sequence is a little higher."
"You're really... far too modest."
Anthony had never felt more sincere saying those words. "So Hugues Artois is you now?
"Does the original consciousness in this body still exist?"
Nimrod chuckled, making Hugues Artois gently